Abstract

Wetlands are important for a number of reasons, and can be evaluated in as many ways - for example, their role as bird habitats, in stabilizing shorelines, as scenic attractions, and in nutrient exchange and primary productivity. This study is concerned with one aspect, the possibility that the fringing wetlands of the Peel-Harvey Estuarine System are important to the nutrient relations of the open water. It is therefore concerned with the general extent of the vegetation, with its approximate nitrogen and phosphorus content, and by using published data, with providing some estimate of the rate at which the nutrients may 'turn over' each year as plants grow and senesce. Attention is also given to the frequency with which these fringing marshes are flooded, as such inundation would provide an important mechanism for nutrient exchange with the open water.